Vancouver

Ten Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. You can also check it out in the Globe & Mail, from our calendar to theirs…and yours!

LOOSEN UP | Looking to let off an little end-of-the-week steam? How about a few hours at a Japanese coffee shop (kissaten) complete with karaoke, juicy schnitzel (katsu) sandwiches, fluffy octopus balls (takoyaki) and Nikka whiskey sodas (liquid courage to hop on the mic for a song)? No tickets or reservations necessary – this is walk-in only gig that celebrates the spirit of the hard working Japanese Salaryman. Sounds like a pretty rad way to end a long work week if you ask us!Fri, March 4th | 5:30-10pm | Birds & The Beets (55 Powell St. Vancouver) | DETAILS

UNTITLED | Nestled in the cluster of cool that is the 400 block of Columbia in Chinatown (Duchesse Vintage, The Shop, This Open Space) is a small gallery called Untitled Art Space. This week marks the beginning of their second year, with the launch of a group show The Untitled Show: Vol II. Head down to see how the gallery has found that its identity in “collaboration and the experimentation of interactive art and interdisciplinary projects”. Expect contributions from almost 20 local artists. Bonus: Bestie is just around the corner and a post art beer and bratwurst never hurt anyone. Preview is Thursday (7-10pm); opening night reception is Friday (8pm); Weekend show hours are Saturday and Sunday from 2pm to 6pm.March 4-March 13 | 436 Columbia St | DETAILS

FILM |Catch Ridley Scott’s magnum opus Blade Runner: The Final Cut on the big screen at the Rio Theatre this week. “Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by his old police boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as a Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.” If you haven’t seen it lately, do it! This is a great film in a great theatre (that just so happens to have bar service).Fri, March 4 | 9:15 | Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway) | $12 | DETAILS

OPERA |Jonesing for some glamour and a bit of big city culture? Put on your fancy clothes and hustle yourself down to Queen Elizabeth Theatre for Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Love, betrayal, heartbreak, a clash of cultures – it’s got all the juicy stuff! Need a refresher? From Vancouver Opera: “In Nagasaki at the turn of the 20th century, a pleasure-seeking American naval officer named Pinkerton leases a house and marries a young geisha. He is only briefly enchanted with his “Butterfly”, but she is totally and forever committed to the marriage. When he abandons her and then, years later, returns to claim their child, Butterfly is devastated and makes a supreme sacrifice, in devotion to her ancestors.” Do it.March 5-13 | Various times + prices | Queen Elizabeth Theatre ( 630 Hamilton St.) | DETAILS

CHEAP EATS |Start March off right by loading up a plate of good food, grabbing a seat at a communal table, and making new friends at Perogy Night. On the first Friday of each month, the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral off Main St. sorts plenty of people out by serving up an authentic Ukrainian dinner and a warm, fuzzy community glow for cheap. A “Traditional Dinner” consists of 6 perogies, 2 cabbage rolls, sauerkraut or salad and sausage and costs just $13 (upgrade to a Super Dinner for $16 and pick up an extra 4 perogies and another cabbage roll). If you’re looking for something a little lighter, a mini dinner is only $9 (4 perogies, a cabbage roll, and some Ukrainian Koubassa). It’s an awesome deal that could only get better if they had $2.50 desserts. Wait…they do?! See you there.Fri, March 4 | 5-8pm | Holy Trinity Ukrainian Cathedral | 154 E 10th | $3.50 – $15 | DETAILS

ART |Looks like there’s a little rain forecast for Vancouver this week. Stay dry and inspired with a few hours of Family Fuse at the Vancouver Art Gallery! At this incarnation of the kid-friendly open house you can expect everything from hip-hop, screen print, collage and sketch workshops to proper gallery tours – all in the ‘Cut, Copy + Paste’ vibe of the current MashUp exhibition. Taking on the formidable task of illustrating the emergence and evolution of “MashUp” culture from 1912 to the present day, this show is so big in scope that the VAG needed to bring all four floors of the gallery in to play. From collage and montage to splicing, sampling, hacking and remixing, this survey of the history of mash-up involves 371 works from 156 artists and took 3 years to pull together. So wear comfortable shoes. Kids under 12 get in free with a paying adult and everyone has a thought provoking and aesthetically pleasing time. Yay art!Sat–Sun, March 5+6 | 10am–5pm | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St.) | $22.50 | DETAILS

CONTRIBUTE | Hey ladies, did you know that a 2011 survey by the Wikimedia Foundation found that less than 10% of its contributors identify as female? That’s some screwed up bias right there. Let’s get that sorted. Take some time to visit the Emily Carr University Library (1399 Johnston St. Granville Island) on Friday or The Western Front (303 8th Ave E.) on Sunday and contribute to an all day communal updating of Wikipedia entries on subjects related to art and feminism. Organizers will be on site offering Wikioedia tutorials, reference materials, childcare, and refreshments; all you have to do is show up with your laptop, power cord and ideas. RSVP on Facebook and sign into the event on Wikipedia here.Fri, March 4 | 11am-6pm | Emily Carr University Library (1399 Johnston St. Granville Island) | DETAILSSun, March 6 | 11-5pm | The Western Front (303 8 AVE E.) | DETAILS

SPACE |Way back in 1916, as part of his theory of general relativity, Albert Einstein predicted ripples in the curvature of spacetime which propagate as waves, travelling outward from the source. It wasn’t until 2015 that we had hard evidence to support the prediction. Get this: “On Sept. 14, 2015, LIGO detected a faint rumbling in spacetime from the collision of two black holes, a cataclysmic event occurring more than a billion years ago. The two black holes merged to form a larger one, in the process releasing three times the mass of our sun in gravitational waves, in the shape of space. This energy release occurred in just a few tenths of a second, making this the most powerful astrophysical event ever observed by humans.” That’s some heavy science right there! Thinking it might be time to bring yourself up to speed with a bit of background information on gravitational waves? SFU has you covered with a free Saturday morning lecture on just that topic. Dr. Michael Landry (Detection Lead at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) takes the stage to discuss the whole (no pun intended) complicated mess.Sat, March 5 | 10am | SFU Surrey campus (Room 2600) | DETAILS

PHOTOGRAPHY |If you’re kicking around The Fraserhood this Saturday, make sure you poke your head into The Aviary to check out Disillusions, an exhibition of 35mm and 120mm film photos shot by locals Bianca Guthrie and Darian Wong. The series of images is intended to read like a fictional photo-journal shot from a fashion perspective: clean and studied but with the suggestion of a story. Hit Matchstick Coffee (next door) for a quality hot beverage and linger over art for a few minutes.Sat March 5 | 11am-3pm | The Aviary (637 E 15) | DETAILS

MAKE | Feeling creative but lacking direction? Wasted Effort jewelry designer Marie Foxall is offering a geometric necklace-making workshop this weekend. Head to the Wasted Effort studio to get your hands on all the tools and materials before tapping into Foxall’s expert skills and you’ve got the makings of a sweet looking brass cutout necklace. How’s that for a Saturday afternoon?Sat, March 5 | 1-4pm | 1243 Kingsway | $125 | DETAILS

SCIENCE |Head out to UBC and hit the the Beaty Biodiversity Museum for their Way Cool Biodiversity series this Sunday and a lecture about porpoises. From the Museum: “Dr. Anna Hall will present an overview of the worlds’ porpoise species, from those found in the coastal waters of British Columbia to the far reaches of the Southern Ocean off Antarctica. Porpoise natural history and conservation will be the focus of the talk, with details of how to get involved in the protection and conservation of these small, elusive marine mammals.” Smart people + interesting topic + beautiful space = a good use of a soggy Sunday.Sun, March 6 | 1pm | UBC Biodiversity Museum | Free with $12 admission | DETAILS

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Disappointing that this column is advertised as suggesting events and activities spanning from March 1 – 6th, yet all of these recommendations fall no earlier than March 4th. So, three days of activities.